USA > Kentucky > Biographical cyclopedia of the commonwealth of Kentucky > Part 81
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Mr. Barret was married September 15, 1863, to Henrietta Offutt, a member of the distinguished family of that name of Shelby County. He has two children, Mary, wife of Dr. James W. Hed- dins of St. Joseph, Missouri, and Augusta, who is at home with her father, Mrs. Barret having died June 27, 1895.
D R. JAMES P. WILLIAMS, one of the lead- ing dental surgeons of western Kentucky and prominent citizen of Henderson, was born in Winchester, Tennessee, January 18, 1865; son of James C. and Cynthia (Vaughan) Williams. His father was born in Virginia in 1821, and some years later removed with his family to Franklin County, Tennessee, where he became a farmer, and in 1846 married Cynthia Vaughan, and they had twelve children: Fulton, Indiana, Rufus, Martin, Marie, Jasper, Thomas, Mollie, Jennie, Jeremiah, Josiah and Cynthia. The father is still living in Tennessee, but the mother died in Feb- ruary, 1895.
Joshua Williams (grandfather) was a native of Jackson County, Alabama, who removed to Vir- ginia and later to Tennessee.
Dr. James P. Williams, the subject of this sketch, received his education in Winchester,
principally at the normal school, in which he received a very high rating in 1885. He then at- tended Vanderbilt University, and was graduated from the dental department in 1888.
He located in Owensboro, and was for six years associated with Dr. Armendt, a well-known dentist of that city, but removed to Henderson in 1884, where he has established himself in a lucra- tive business and in the confidence of the people, receiving a liberal share of their patronage. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and is active and enthusiastic in the work of the church.
EORGE ALEXANDER LEWIS, editor G I and proprietor of the Roundabout of Frankfort, was born in that city, June 24, 1846, and is a son of George Wythe and Mary J.(Todd) Lewis. George W. Lewis was a native of Spott- sylvania County, Virginia, and removed with his parents to Kentucky when fifteen years of age. He began life as a dry-goods clerk, but later became connected with the Frankfort Common- wealth in the capacity of bookkeeper and business manager, frequently contributing to the columns of his paper; in 1864 he removed to Lexington and, associated with his eldest son, J. B. Lewis, commenced the publication of the Nation and Unionist, of which he was editor. Although a Southern man by birth and education, he was a strong supporter of the Union during the Civil war, and his paper was the first in the state to advocate the re-election of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lewis was a man of strong convictions and firmness of character; he died July 19, 1865. He was a son of John and Jean Wood (Daniel) Lewis.
Mary J. (Todd) Lewis is an eminently pious woman, a constant worker in the Presbyterian Church, of which she became a member when she was a child. She was born and reared in Frankfort, where at the age of seventy-six she still resides. Her parents, George and Mary Ellis (Montague) Todd, were Virginians by birth and died when she was a child, and she was raised by an elder sister. Col. Zachary Lewis (great- grandfather) of Bel-Air, Spottsylvania County, Virginia, was an officer in the Colonial army dur- ing the French and Indian war, a messmate of
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General Washington at Fort Cumberland, and was presented a sword by the latter, which is still in possession of the family. Col. Lewis after- ward served in the Revolutionary army. His son John was an eminent educator in Virginia and Kentucky, and served as a captain of cavalry in Virginia during the War of 1812. From him such men as the late Governor and United States Senator John W. Stevenson, the eminent lawyer, Alexander Holladay of Virginia, Rev. Cadwalla- der Lewis, LL.D., and numerous others received the bulk of their education. His wife, Jean Wood Lewis, was a sister of Judge Peter V. Daniel of the Supreme Court of the United States.
George A. Lewis was educated in the best pri- vate schools of Frankfort, but left the school room early to begin the battle of life. In 1859 he was appointed a page in the house of rep- resentatives of the Kentucky legislature, which position he held during the sessions of 1859-60, '61-62, '63-64. During the session of 1861-62, one of his associates was Hon. W. O. Bradley, present governor of Kentucky, who served in a like capacity.
From 1853 Mr. Lewis has been a citizen of Frankfort, excepting one year spent in Lexington and a few months spent in Ohio County, where he had charge of the office of the Hartford Herald .. For eighteen years he has been in business just across the street from where he was born. For twelve years he worked at the case as a com- positor, but in June, 1878, established the Round- about printing establishment, and from a small beginning of one boy and himself as the working force has built it up until now three papers, one daily and two weeklies, and a semi-monthly law magazine are issued from this plant. In July, 1880, he established the Kentucky Law Reporter, the only law magazine published in Kentucky. It has grown to be indispensable to every lawyer in full practice in the state.
Mr. Lewis was never in the war, but partici- pated in two skirmishes with Morgan's raiders near Frankfort in June, 1864. He has served as commissioner of the Institution for Educa- tion of Feeble Minded Children, which he now holds by appointment by Governor Bradley. In November, 1893, he was elected member of the
board of councilmen and served three months as president of that body. In March, 1892, Mr. Lewis made the race for the legislature to fill a vacancy, and with a normal Democratic majority of 800 to 1,000 he was only defeated by 222. He is one of the original incorporators of the Masonic Temple Company, and at present is a member of the board of directors; joined the Masonic order in 1870; has been a very active member, and for twelve years has served as master of Hiram lodge No. 4, one of the oldest lodges in the state; passed all the chairs in the lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery. In 1891 was grand master of Grand Council of Kentucky, and at present is grand sword bearer of the Grand Com- mandery of the state; also past grand councilor of Kentucky Royal Templars of Temperance and past supreme herald of the United States in the same order.
Mr. Lewis was raised a Presbyterian, his father having for many years been presiding elder of that church. He is a Republican, casting his first ballot for General Grant.
February 17, 1874, he was married to Alice Giltner, daughter of Henry Giltner and Caroline (Cromwell) Giltner, and has no children.
He is the editor and publisher of the Frank- fort Roundabout, a local and society paper, the oldest published in this city, also publisher of the Kentucky Law Reporter, and is one of the worthy citizens of Frankfort; industrious, against fraud and sham of all kinds, and is always found on the side of morality and justice.
JOHN WILLIAM GREENE of Owen Coun- ty, circuit judge of the Fifteenth Judicial Dis- trict of Kentucky, son of Jesse L. Greene and Caroline Cannon, was born in Grant County, Ken- tucky, August 8, 1842; was educated in the com- mon schools of Owen, Grant and Kenton Coun- ties and quit school at the age of twenty to enter the Confederate army; joined Company E, Fifth Regiment Kentucky Infantry in September, 1862, and served until the close of the war. He took part in many of the famous battles of that war, including Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and every engagement of that campaign until the fall of Atlanta, and lost a limb in the battle of Jones-
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borough. He entered the army as a private, was elected second sergeant; promoted to orderly sergeant; elected second lieutenant and promoted to first lieutenant; and continued in service after losing a limb until the final surrender. He re- mained in Perry County, Alabama, and taught school for one term; returned to Owen County in the fall of 1865 and taught school; was elected sheriff of Owen County, August, 1866, and re- elected 1868; serving four years in all, and, hav- ing studied law previously, was admitted to the Owen County bar in 1871 and began the practice of his profession alone; became associated with William Lindsay in 1874, and was a member of the law firm of Greene & Lindsay for several years; was elected county judge in 1878 and served four years; was appointed member of the State Board of Equalization by Governor Buck- ner in 1889; was re-appointed and commissioned in 1891, but resigned and was elected to his pres- ent office as judge of the Circuit Court of the Fif- teenth Judicial District in 1892. Considering the demands of a very extensive law practice when not on the bench, it is evident that Judge Greene has been a very busy man, and his neighbors say he was a brave and fearless soldier, a most effi- cient civil officer, a distinguished lawyer, an able and upright judge, and has made his own way in the world; starting amid humble surroundings, he has reached an enviable prominence in the legal profession and is highly esteemed by the members of the bar. He is a member of the Baptist Church and of the Odd Fellows frater- nity. Having been frequently elected to office in Owen County, it is not necessary to add that he is a Democrat in good standing.
Judge Greene was married (first) in December, 1870, to Margaret M. Gaines, who was born in Henry County and died February 22, 1882. She was the mother of Frank C. Greene.
He was married (second) in October, 1884, to Mrs. Ada Williams, whose maiden name was Howard; a native of Gallatin County, whose first husband was Taylor Williams. There are three children by this last marital union: Maggie E., Anna May and John Howard Greene.
James L. Greene, father of Judge Greene, was born in Grant County, Kentucky, in 1819, and
died August, 1893. He was educated in the schools of his native county, removed to Owen County in 1848, or about that time, and was prin- cipally engaged in farming, serving a time as a magistrate; was a member of the Missionary Bap- tist Church and a prominent Mason; was married in 1840 to Caroline Cannon, who was born in Grant County in 1819, and their children's names were: Emily C., John W. (subject), James S., Elijah L., R. C. Greene, Sallie, Mary, Owen Breckenridge, Willard, Jesse and Carrie.
Robert Greene (grandfather) was a native of Culpeper County, Virginia, and he and his broth- er William Greene came to Grant County, Ken- tucky; William was a teacher and Robert A. a pioneer farmer. He married Sallie Ford, a na- tive of Kentucky; their children were: John F., William P., Jesse L. (father), James F., Elijah J. and Francis. Robert Greene died in Grant County in 1859.
John Greene (great-grandfather), a native of Virginia, came to Kentucky with his sons, Wil- liam and Robert, and died in Grant County.
John Cannon (maternal grandfather) was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and was educated in the common schools of his day and removed to Grant County early in life and subsequently to Owen County, where he was a farmer and justice of the peace; was married about 1816 to Julia Wornon, who was born in Culpeper County, Vir- ginia, and came to Kentucky with her parents. Their children were: Sallie, Caroline and Wil- liam.
H ARRY BLANTON BECK, Circuit Clerk of Owen County, Kentucky, son of David E. and Colie (Blanton) Beck, was born in Owen County, May 8, 1853.
He was educated in the schools of Owen Coun- ty; left school when he was fifteen years of age and went to Montana Territory, where he was engaged in stock-raising for six years. After this he went to Dakota and became a miner. But when his step-father died in 1876 he returned to Kentucky and located in Bath County, where he engaged in a general merchandise business for four years. He then went to Owenton and en- gaged in merchandising until 1892, when he was
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elected to his present position as circuit clerk of Owen County. At the state convention in June, 1895, he was appointed a member of the State Democratic Central Committee from the Ashland District. He is an Odd Fellow and a Master Mason.
Mr. Beck was married May 8, 1878, to Annie Duncan of Carlisle, Nicholas County, Kentucky, daughter of C. H. B. Duncan of Louisville and Zilla (Carter) Duncan, a native of Nicholas Coun- ty. Mrs. Beck was born in Paris, Kentucky, and educated in private schools at Frankfort, Ken- tucky. She was a member of the Christian Church. They had three children: Nannie Coleman, Ethel and Herndon Blanton (deceased). Mrs. Beck died January 26, 1888.
Dr. David E. Beck (father) was born in Wheel- ing, West Virginia, October, 1824, and was edu- cated at Fairfield, Iowa. He graduated from a Philadelphia medical college, and began to prac- tice medicine first at Fairfield, Iowa. In 1849 he left Iowa and settled in New Liberty, Kentucky, where he continued to practice his chosen pro- fession until his death, May 13, 1858. He was a Democrat in politics and an Odd Fellow; mar- ried Colie Blanton in 1850. She was educated at New Liberty, Owen County, Kentucky, and was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. They had four children: James, Harry B., Susan and a daughter who died in infancy.
James Beck (grandfather) was born in Ireland and immigrated to Wheeling, West Virginia. He had one son, John, by his first wife. His second wife was Sarah Evans, a native of Vir- ginia, and by this marriage he had four children: William G., James Schriver, David Evans and Richard Simeon.
James Beck, Sr., died in Pennsylvania, and after the death of her husband Mrs. Beck kept a hotel in Wheeling, West Virginia, and Abraham Lincoln was for many years her boarder. She came to Kentucky when very old to end her days with her son. Here, of course, strong sentiment existed against Lincoln, and whenever such senti- ments were expressed in the presence of Mrs. Beck she would indignantly defend her favorite boarder.
Henry Blanton (maternal grandfather) was a
native of Kentucky, and for fifty years a merchant at New Liberty, Kentucky. Before the war he was a large slave owner. His brother, William Blanton, was a devout pioneer Baptist preacher.
Henry Blanton was originally a Whig and then a Democrat, and, like his brother in the ministry, a Baptist. He married (first) his cousin, Susan Blanton, a native of Virginia. His second wife was Mrs. Sarah Craig, nee Green, a native of Vir- ginia, who was known far and wide for her strong religious convictions. By his first marriage he had five children: Bettie Ware, Susan Sneed, Dr. Carter, Margaret Coleman and Dr. William H. Blanton. Dr. Carter Blanton died at Hick- man, Kentucky, while attending the yellow fever sufferers in 1878.
C HARLES LOUIS RAISON, JR., a resident of Newport and a prominent attorney-at- law, practicing in Cincinnati and also in Newport, was born in Greenup, Kentucky, October 29, 1849. He is a son of Charles Louis Raison and Amanda K. Corum, natives of Greenup County. His father was educated for the legal profession and was admitted to the bar, but having a pref- erence for mercantile life, did not engage in the practice of law, but was for many years a suc- cessful merchant and prominent citizen of Green- up; but removed to Ashland, where he also engaged in mercantile pursuits, taking a lively interest in politics, and was elected county judge of Boyd County and was subsequently elected mayor of the city of Ashland. A Republican of strong convictions and a man of unusual force of character, he was a leader in his party and a man of affairs in the communities in which he lived. He was born in Greenup in 1823 and died in Ashland in 1887.
Mr. Raison's family history is one of unusual interest, showing his relation to the nobility of France for many centuries. His great-grand- father's name was Louis Modesta Raison de la Geneste, who married Lady Marie Thereza Lan- gier. At his death his wife survived him with two children, Louis Raison de la Geneste (grand- father), and Lady Marie Thereza Clotilda Raison de la Geneste. His widow married Philip Ridore, a planter and owner of large estates in the Island
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of San Domingo. At the time of the insurrection of the negroes and massacre of the white inhab- itants of the Island of San Domingo, Louis Raison de la Geneste (grandfather) was the owner of a large estate and many slaves. He and his sister escaped from the island and came to Ameri- ca. He came to Greenup County, Kentucky, where he lived and died. He married Avemathea Young, daughter of John Young, who was a native of Virginia, a man of large means, of high social standing and an officer in the Revolutionary war.
Lady Marie Louise Victoria Antoinette Raison de la Geneste, sister of Louis Modesta Raison de la Geneste, married Pierre Antoine Fontaine de Chaussenell, and they came to America and lo- cated in New Orleans, where they lived and died, and where many of their descendants now reside.
Louis Raison de la Geneste (grandfather) was an educated French nobleman, and the family is one of the oldest and strongest of the French nobility. The title is a matter of public record in France, and can be traced for many hundred years, showing that many of the ancestors were military men of renown. It has its coat-of-arms and crest and a history showing the title of the family for centuries. Notwithstanding this, Charles Louis Raison, the subject of this sketch, is thoroughly American. He never uses his title, preferring to be known simply as an American.
The parents of Amanda K. Corum (mother) came to Kentucky from North Carolina, in which state many of her relatives now reside. She is now living with her son in Newport.
Charles Louis Raison, following the example of his ancestors, was carefully and thoroughly edu- cated under the helpful direction and assistance of his talented father, and after leaving school at the age of seventeen, was employed as book- keeper for the Eastern Kentucky Railway Com- pany in Greenup County, and was engaged in different capacities with various companies in the iron business in that section until 1873, and there began the study of law under D. K. Weis. He then took the law course in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and returning to Ken- tucky, was admitted to the bar in Carter County in 1875. He practiced in partnership with Hon.
B. F. Bennett of Greenup until 1878, when he removed to Cincinnati and engaged in the prac- tice of law in that city, taking up his residence, however, in Newport, preferring a home in his native state while doing business in the larger city across the river. His success was gratifying and encouraging from the start, and he soon found his proper place among the leading lawyers of the Ohio metropolis. In 1888 he formed a partnership with George H. Ahlering, the firm being known as Raison & Ahlering; and as they are residents of Newport, deeply interested in the welfare of that city, and prominent in all inatters looking to its general growth and prog- ress, they have an office in Newport as well as in Cincinnati, and receive a liberal share of the legal business of Campbell and adjacent counties.
Mr. Raison is a Republican, and while averse to holding office, being independent of the public crib, he takes the part of a good citizen in the selection of men and the adoption of measures looking to the improvement of the public service.
He was married in 1879 to Georgiana Wright- son, daughter of Hon. Thomas Wrightson, ex- state senator from Campbell County. They have two children living: Lizzie and Thomas Raison.
S TANTON HUME THORPE, Clerk of the Madison Circuit Court, Richmond, son of Stanton Hume Thorpe and Sallie Wallace (Miller) Thorpe, was born on a farm in the eastern por- tion of Madison County, Kentucky, December 10, 1864.
His father was born in the same vicinity in 1832 and has been a resident of the county all his life, principally engaged in farming, and leading a quiet and unostentatious life; was assessor of the county for one term, but has not taken an active part in politics.
Thomas Thorpe (grandfather) was born, lived and died in Madison County, Kentucky, having reached the good old age of eighty-three years.
Zachariah Thorpe (great-grandfather) was one of the first settlers of Madison County, where he pre-empted land and became a prosperous farmer.
Sallie Wallace Miller Thorpe (mother) was born in Madison County, Kentucky, in 1837. and is now in her fifty-ninth year. Her father, Chris-
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topher J. Miller, was a native of the same county, was an industrious blacksmith and farmer of his native county. His father, Daniel Miller, was one of the very early settlers of that county.
Stanton Hume Thorpe, Jr., received his educa- tion in the public schools of the county, remain- ing on his father's farm until he was eighteen years of age, when he accepted a position as deputy circuit clerk in Richmond under his uncle, William H. Miller, and was thus employed for seven years. In 1892 he made the race for the clerkship and was elected clerk of the Circuit Court, of which he took charge January 1, 1893. He had performed the duties of the office for so many years that he was entirely familiar with every detail and fully qualified for his responsible position.
Mr. Thorpe is a modest young man of accom- modating disposition, very popular with the mem- bers of the bar, efficient in the performance of his duties and enjoys the esteem of the people of his county, with whose interests he is fully identified. He is a member of the best society of Richmond, belongs to the fraternities of Masons and Odd Fellows, and is a consistent member of the Mis- sionary Baptist Church.
He was married in August, 1886, to Henrietta R. Rayborn, daughter of Milton L. Rayborn of Madison County, and they have one son, Cecil Thorpe.
C HARLES H. ALEXANDER, D. D. S., leading dentist of Middlesborough, Ken- tucky, son of Cummins G. Alexander and M. Morrison, was born in Speedwell, Tennessee, August 15, 1863.
His father was born in Lebanon, Virginia, in 1829, and when a child went to Claiborne County, Tennessee, with his father; was a resident and farmer of that county until 1879, when he re- moved to Fincastle, Campbell County, Tennes- see, where he is living at the present time. Dur- ing the war between the sections, he sympathized with the South, but did not bear arms except as a member of the Home Guards, which was an important branch of the service in his section. Mr. Alexander has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits with commendable industry and excel-
lent success. He is a man of fine traits of char- acter, an exemplary Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
David Alexander (grandfather), a native of Ire- land, came to this country with his father when five years of age; removed to Claiborne County, Tennessee, in the early '30's, where he was a farmer, and died in 1844. His father was a native of Ireland, who immigrated to Virginia in the early years of the present century.
Mary Morrison Alexander (mother) was a na- tive of Hawkins County, Tennessee, and died in Claiborne County in that state in 1870. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was known and loved for her good works and many deeds of kindness.
Peter Morrison (maternal grandfather) was born and raised in Sullivan County, and was a tanner in Hawkins County, Tennessee.
Dr. Charles H. Alexander attended the county schools in Claiborne County. He was fifteen years of age when his father removed to Fincas- tle, where he attended the High School and aft- erwards finished his literary studies in Hiawassa College, near Sweetwater, Tennessee, always pay- ing his own way. He was employed as a clerk in a Knoxville business house for two years before going to Nashville in 1886 to take a course in dentistry in State University of Tennessee, from which he was graduated in 1889.
He began his professional work as a traveling dentist, with headquarters at Jelico, Tennessee, in 1889, and remained there about a year, when he located permanently in Middlesborough, Ken- tucky, in December, 1889. He came to that city in the height of its prosperity, and did not desert it when reverses came. His confidence in the fu- ture of the city has not been misplaced, for the tide has turned and the city of Middlesborough offers greater and more substantial advantages for residence and business than ever before in its history. In 1896 Dr. Alexander took a post- graduate course in the American College of Den- tal Surgery in Chicago.
Dr. Alexander's preparation for the delicate work of his profession was very thorough and scientific. His work has been of the highest or- der, and of a character that commends him to the
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public. His patronage has come from the best people of the community, and he has established himself in the confidence of the entire neighbor- ing public. It is no fulsome praise to say that Dr. Alexander is the most skillful and scientific den- tal surgeon in all that section of the country.
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